Saving Money on Hot Water Heating Cost

Saving money on hot water heating cost is easy if you know a few basic things about the style water heater you own and the layout of your plumbing. Many homeowners have absolutely no idea how to even check to see how well their hot water heater is working.

Water heaters have a temperature adjustment dial or knob somewhere on the electrical or gas controls. This dial usually is marked with arrows and labels like HOT - WARM. Adjusting this setting to the lowest comfortable setting that you can live with is a really simple way to save money on water heating bills.

How can I get the most comfortable shower experience and yet not break the bank while doing this? Typically hot water heaters are set to run at about 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and most of us can get by using hot water that is 120 degrees. Note that if you cut this down too far there are things that will run differently due to this change. Two of the most important changes will be the laundry, and the dishwasher. Laundry that requires really hot water can suffer since certain things only work well when the water temperature is at least 120 to 122 degrees F.

Some of the modern dishwashers are set to operate on a water temperature between 135 and 145 degrees F. This is accomplished by preheating the incoming water to the temperature you requested when setting the wash selector dial on the dishwasher. The system may take longer to cycle through since it may have to stop periodically to reheat the water midway through a cleaning cycle.

You could easily save over 25% a month on your electric or gas cost by using a more moderate set point on the thermostat dial. On an electric water heater the temperature control dials are under the tan or blue access doors on the side of the tank, situation with one low and the other high. These covers are safety hatches that house a controller to adjust the tank temperature with. Be very careful adjusting this as you can be electrocuted if you do not turn off the electrical power first!

Saving money on hot water heating costs is all about making sure you conserve wherever you can. Running the shower for five minutes before you get in is a ridiculous waste of resources and this practice should be avoided at all cost. Tips and tricks for setting gas or electric hot water heating units to an optimal setting using a thermostatic control dial that is roughly calibrated to a range of HOT to WARM would be to make small adjustments at night so that the changes can be observed in the morning, then if it is still not quite right, adjust again in the morning after you test it. This is repeated until you feel the water is the most comfortable setting.

If you have any kind of thermometer that reads accurately in the range of 120 to 150 degrees F, then use this to sample the hot water during your testing. Once you turn the system down you may have to relearn the setting for all of your faucets since it will require less cold water to blend the temperature down to something manageable.

One of the simplest ways to save on hot water heating cost is to wrap the tank in and insulating blanket. This holds the heat in the tank where it belongs. Also insulating as much of the hot water piping as you can will save quite a bit of hot water over time.

Making sure to turn the water heater off, or at least set the hot water down to the lowest possible setting while you are away for more than an overnight stay. The heat comes back up really fast once you turn it back on, so you should not need to worry about shower temperature the following morning.

With some experimentation you should be able to arrive at the optimal hot water heater setting for your household and family. One radical approach to re-using hot water heat is to put in a heat scavenger tank somewhere in your home. I am working on building a 125 gallon system that will fit in my basement and will collect the water from the shower and with a tiny pump and fan will circulate the warm water through some heat exchange coils then flow on into the drain.

I am planning to offer a kit and or plans only that you can purchase from me for a nominal fee. Please let me know if you want more information on this project!

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